Different Worlds, Same Heart
by Ronni C
Summary: Hinata Hyūga, one of the best konoichi's in Konoha, finds herself in quite the predicament when she is chosen for a special S-ranked mission: Infiltrating the Akatsuki.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: ** Not mine, won't ever be. It belongs to Kishimoto ^.^

**A/N: **I originally had no intentions of publishing this, but then I did anyway. So please R&R and let me know if I should continue this.

**Different World Same Heart**

She could barely sleep with the way she was feeling at the moment. This guilt. It was eating her from the inside out. The way her heart clenched every time she thought of doing this special S-rank mission.

The mission required her to strip away her affiliation to Konoha and join the ranks of the Akatsuki. They approached her a few days ago and told her that she had a week to either abandon the village and join them or they would find a way to eliminate her. Off course she told Lady Hokage, Tsunade, about what the Akatsuki told her.

Tsunade thought about it for a while before calling Hinata back a day later to tell her about the conclusion she came to. The conclusion that was this mission.

"_This mission can change everything, Hinata. It can save Naruto's life, save the village and gather information on the Akatsuki for Konoha's purpose. If you accept this mission, you will be required to be known as a rogue ninja. I won't file any direct mission to capture you, but nobody must know of this mission. Not Naruto, Neji, or your father, nobody at all. Do you accept, Hinata?"_ Tsunade asked her and Hinata accepted.

This was the day she would leave and meet up with Kisame Hoshigaki and Itachi Uchiha on the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Wind. That was what they told her.

_"Hinata Hyuga. You have heard now what the terms are. You have one week to meet us on the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Wind. Do not fail to fail show up or we will find you and eliminate you. We do not know the reason behind why Leader-sama decided to make you join our ranks, but he asked it of us so we shall see it through." Itachi said to Hinata, his partner just standing there, grinning in an eerie way. She just nodded and accepted the terms. Her father always told her to stay calm and so she will. Even when she was shaking to death inside. _

She sighed softly and climbed out of her window. It was night time when she left the Hyuga estate, the moon was full and held an odd red glow to it. It was almost as if it knew.

She swiftly jumped from roof to roof, not trusting herself to think too much. She mustn't back out now. Hinata after all, learnt her ninja way from the number one knuckle-head ninja who she admired and loved all at the same time and that ninja was the one and only, Uzumaki Naruto.

She hated herself for doing this. _What__ would Naruto think of me when he finds out? _She thought, but quickly shook her head as she jumped down at the gate that lead out of the village.

"Hinata?" a voice called out from behind her. "What are you doing?" she turned around and came face to face with Kiba.

"K-Kiba.. A-ano, I can't t-tell you." She said tapping her fingers together. She may have gotten to elite Jonin rank, but Hinata will always stay Hinata. The one who always stuttered, tapped her fingers together and stayed in the shadows.

"You're leaving aren't you? I thought you weren't stupid enough to join them, Hinata!"He said, his voice getting louder. She flinched almost at every word. Her heart clenched painfully in her chest. She gathered all her strength in herself and spoke without any stutter.

"I'm not sorry, Kiba. You don't know the pain of being alone, you don't know the pain of never being good enough for your own family. You were loved. Do you know the feeling? No. You never will." She said bitterly. The look in his eyes almost made her stop and run back and saying all this was just a joke and everything can go back to normal, but she can't turn back. Anything for Naruto-kun.

"I couldn't sleep and decided to take a walk. Good thing I did, though. Hinata, I'll get sense into you even if I have to beat it into you." He growled out.

She shook her head and appeared behind him with a quick burst of chakra. It happened so fast that even when he tried to turn around to block her, he couldn't. She hit him in the base of the neck, but before he could fall unconscious, she muttered a soft 'I'm sorry'.

With a soft plop, his unconscious body fell in a heap to the ground. She shook her head to clear her head. It was official. She now hated herself for doing this to him and the rest of the village.

With that last thought, she jumped onto the nearest branch and further into the woods. Disappearing into the shadows, leaving Konoha for the last time known as a Konoha Konoichi.

&&Break&&

His eyes felt heavy as he opened them. He briefly wondered what happened before it all came rushing back to him. _Hinata.. No.. _Kiba thought as he sat up straight. He was in an all white room, the sun was streaming in through the small crack left open by the blue curtrains that hung limply in the window. He figured he was probably in the Hospital.

He still remember two days ago when Hinata told him about the Akatsuki asking her to join them.

"_You won't do it will you?" Kiba asked carefully. It wasn't that he didn't trust Hinata, he was just making sure, or that was what he was telling himself. He just wasn't getting a good feeling about them asking Hinata of all people to join them. There has to be another reason to it other than just her talents and bloodline ability. He wasn't as smart as Shikamaru, he couldn't figure out the mind of their leader or how they worked. All he knew was that they wanted Hinata for themselves and own selfish purposes. _

"_W-what? N-no, off c-course not." Hinata said with a shake of her head and Kiba gave a sigh of relief. _

"_Well that's a relief! Don't you worry, Hinata, I won't let anything happen to you" He said and turned to her, giving her his famous wolfish grin. Akamaru, who was busy laying idly watching his master talking, gave a bark to say he will also protect her. _

"_See Hinata? Akamaru says so too" He said, laughing. She just smiled. _

A whimper brought him back to reality, he looked next to his bed and came face to face with Akamaru. Akamaru barked out almost in relief for seeing his master awake and alright.

"Ah, I see your awake. Good morning, Kiba" A voice sounded from the door. Kiba's attention immediately reverted to Lady Tsunade, who had just came in at the sound of Akamaru's barking.

"Lady Tsunade?" Kiba said. Tsunade nodded and walked over to stand at his bedside. \

"How are you feeling? You took a nasty bump to your head ." She said.

"I'm feeling fine, Lady Tsunade. What about Hinata?" He asked seriously. Akamaru whimpered from next to him, not liking the tone of his voice.

"What about her? Kiba, what happened?" Tsunade demanded. Kiba turned his head to stare out the window. His eyes held deep sadness for what transpired the previous night. He sighed and told Lady Tsunade what happened.

She almost looked guilty, but nonetheless shocked at what happened.

"I see.. We will have to give the news of Hinata's betrayal this afternoon to the rest of Rookie 9."Tsunade said solemnly. "You may leave when you feel rested enough" she nodded to him and left him alone once again. Her heels clicking in the way she walked.

Akamaru nudged his leg from where he sat next to Kiba's bed. Kiba looked at him and smiled softly at his ninja partner.

"Yeah, Akamaru. I hope she'll be fine too" Kiba said.

&&Break&&

In every nation, people feared the Akatsuki. They were ruthless killers and were known as such. Did they care? Probably not. The organization's name were feared world wide, it didn't matter if the people fearing tha Akatsuki were shinobi.

The bingo book was full of the names of the Akatsuki's names. One Hinata was very familiar with was Itachi Uchiha., the known traitor of Konohagakure. She will soon be joining him, however, in the bingo book. Her father hated her surely by now for leaving. It was better off with them hating her, she thought. They shouldn't know the truth or they'll come searching for her, most likely to try and drag her back to the Hidden Leaf village. Her mission required her to be free of all the ties she holds to the village. She will be back one day, that was a promise.

Kiba's words to her was etched into her mind. It hurt her to think of how he felt. Betrayed by his own team mate, just like what Sasuke did to team 7. She just hoped he wouldn't hurt himself the way Sakura and Naruto do by just thinking of Sasuke. What Shino would do, she didn't know. He always were a bit on the secretive side, but he was her friend nonetheless.

She cleared her mind as soon as her feet touched grass. She scanned the area with her Byakugan to see if Itachi and Kisame were here yet. Luckily not, she thought as she sighed in relief. They were probably still on their way, she was after all still a few hours too early.

Hinata jumped back into the nearest tree that stood next to the river bank. She sat down and laid against the tree, just watching the birds fly over the river. The river was shining brightly because of the setting sun that shone over it. Hinata closed her eyes while Naruto's words took over her mind.

_"I'm not gonna run away and I never go back on my word, that is my nindō! My ninja way!" _

___"To become Hokage is my dream!"_

"_How can I call myself Hokage, if I can't even save one friend?!" _

"_I am strong because I have people to protect_._"_

A sudden noise brought her back to reality. Her ninja reflexes immediately activated, she threw a kunai at where she heard the noise.

"Tch. Feisty aren't ya?" A voice said as he walked out of the woods into the clearing. She immediately saw it was Itachi and Kisame. Hinata straightened up and cleared the echoing voice of Naruto in her head. She sighed and jumped down from the tree.

The sun had already set and the moon was now visible in the night sky.

"What is your decision?" Itachi asked, his face remaining stoic.

"I-I have left Konoha." She silently chided herself for stuttering in front of S-ranked criminals. Itachi nodded.

"Wise decision. Are any ninja pursuing you? " He asked. Hinata shook her head, but thought of Kiba. She was sure he wouldn't cause any trouble to them. Sure, he may have told Tsunade about it by now, but they wouldn't take any action yet. By the time that they take action, she and the other two Akatsuki members would be long gone.

"There is only o-one ninja who knows I left, but I'm positive that they will not follow me" Hinata said. Kisame grinned. She inwardly grimaced at the sight. He truly was a sight to behold. Someone who was terrifying just by grinning.

"Good. We leave at day break." Hinata nodded. Itachi on the other hand, looked calm and collected, but she knew better. He was the murderer of the entire Uchiha clan, that was enough to tell her that he was very powerful.

"Hai" She muttered, softly. Itachi turned around and calmly walked to a huge rock that was next to the river bank, beside the tree that she was sitting on a moment ago. He sat down on top of it, a leg propped up lazily near his chest wile the other hung limply from the rock side.

Kisame smirked at her and went to sit cross legged on the ground in front of the rock, Itachi, sat on. Hinata nodded at them and jumped back on the tree. She looked up to the sky while she resumed the position that she was in a while ago before the two partners interrupted her.

She looked up to the sky to the moon. The moon made her miss Konoha, her home, the place where she belonged. She sighed softly and closed her eyes, letting unconsciousness take her.

&&Break&&

"Nani?! Hinata did what?!" Naruto Uzumaki yelled out. Tsunade sighed and rubbed her temples, tiredly. She just relayed the news of Hinata's betrayal to the rest of Rookie 9. She should have known Naruto was going to take the news the worst.

The rest of rookie 9 stared at Tsunade in shock. All thinking of how Hinata could have done that. The Hinata they knew, stuttered and blushed too easily. How could she become a ruthless killer like the Akatsuki members are.

"You heard me Naruto. She left Konoha to join the Akatsuki. Her reasons for doing that, I don't know, but all I do know is that she is now a traitor to Konoha." Tsunade said, solemnly.

His normally happy face, was grim and pale at the news. His shoulders was slumped and his eyes were downcast, his hair was shielding his eyes, making them appear darker. "No.." He mumbled, his voice barely a whisper.

"L-Lady Tsunade-"Sakura began, eyes also wide "-, how did this happen?" She asked. Tsunade shook her head. Kiba and Shino were both in the corner, both choosing not to participate in the conversation since Hinata was their team mate. Akamaru was making soft whimpering sounds at the tension in the room.

The weather seemed fitting enough. The rain was pouring down as thunder shot down in the distance. "A week ago, Hinata came to me to tell me about the Akatsuki, who approached her while she was on a mission to request her to join the ranks. I ordered her to stay low, since we do not know their intention. She told me she had till the end of the week, which was yesterday, to make a decision. They are probably long gone by now" Tsunade said.

Neji, who was silent the whole while, decided to pipe up, "Lady Hinata would never make such a brash decision." He said angrily.

"You all thought Sasuke Uchiha would never traitor Konoha, but look where he is now!" Tsunade yelled. Naruto and Sakura flinching at the harshness of the tone in which she said it. Tsunade took a deep breath to calm herself. All of the Rookie 9 was shocked speechless.

"I'm sorry for this, but it would be best if you forget about Hinata Hyuga" said Tsunade. Naruto snapped his gaze up to her, his eyes furious. 

"Never! She's our friend! We all should go to find her, not forget about her!" He yelled. Kiba and Shino's head snapped up at the sudden volume of Naruto's voice. Sakura's eyes widened a bit, but nodded her head in a vigorous manner. All of rookie 9 seemed to agree with Naruto.

Tsunade slammed her hands on the table, standing up. Shizune visibly flinched from her position at the window. "Now you listen to me. Any ninja who goes after Hinata will be violating Konoha's rules and will be named as a traitor, got it? If you go after her, I will have no choice, but to relieve you of your ninja ranks!" she yelled.

Naruto's brow furrowed at the thought of getting relieved of his Ninja duties. He definetely didn't like the sound of that. Not any of the Ninja's liked the sound of that, judging by their shocked faces and furrowed brows.

"This isn't over, Baa-chan. I will get Hinata back to the village some day, maybe not today, but like I once said, how can I one day call myself Hokage, if I can't even save my friends." He said, determination visible in his eyes.

Lee piped up, "The fire of youth burns inside of you Naruto-kun! We shall be one hundred percent at your side!" He yelled, fire visible in his eyes.

Tsunade sighed and rubbed her temples. She sat down. Shizune, with TonTon in her arms, calmed down. "Naruto-baka. You'll get your chance one day, but as you said, its not today. You may all leave now, but remember my words to you" She warned. Rookie 9 nodded and left reluctantly. Naruto and Neji being the last ones out, both held a silent agreement to one day bring Hinata back to Konoha.

"Those baka's.." Tsunade muttered. She silently hoped that Hinata would be fine with the Akatsuki. It's for the best, she kept telling herself.

&&Break&&

Pain, the leader of the Akatsuki, stood in the highest tower that resided in the Rain village known as Amagakure. With Konan, his childhood friend, beside him. His calm gaze was watching the village intently.

"She will only be arriving in a week, Pain. It's useless to think about it now" Konan said from beside him. She clearly knew him best, since she knew how he thought.

He nodded, "Yes, I know. We must hope she will be a good enough member since she has a valuable Kekkei Genkai, the Byakugan." He said. Konan seemed to agree with him.

"I believe that she will. She is one of the best Konoichi's in her village."

**TBC **

**A/N**: Please review and tell me what you thought about this and if I should continue this. I don't know what pairing there will be if I continue this story, but I think I have an idea. I'm still open to suggestions, though.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: **My main choices for this story's pairing was between, Deidera, Itachi or Sasuke. I decided on Sasuke for the time being, but if there is any objections, please feel free to tell me and I'll put a poll up or something. Please R&R

**Disclaimer**: Not mine. Naruto belongs to Kishimoto

**Different Worlds Same Heart**

**Chapter 2:**

_A few weeks prior, Sasuke had killed Orochimaru when he tried to take over his body. Sasuke had planned that for the few years he was trained by Orochimaru. He wouldn't just let him take over his body like that. He wasn't a fool and only fools would be played that easily. The battle's consequences were Orochimaru's death, which wasn't that tragic at all, and Sasuke injured. _

_After the battle, a man in an orange mask took Sasuke's injured body to Amagakure, Pain's village. That was when they retold the story of Itachi's side of the Uchiha massacre. What they told him, shocked Sasuke deeply. The man Danzo was behind it all. He ordered Itachi to kill his entire family._

_Itachi stood in the corner of the room, patiently waiting for them to finish with folded arms. When Sasuke first awoken, his first instinct was to kill Itach, but the Chakra infused ropes kept him from doing so. That was until he was told the full truth behind the massacre that left his entire family dead. He was mad, no, furious as to what Danzo did. _

"_Aniki. Is all this true?" Sasuke asked him, eyes wide. He was suddenly back to his old 6 year old self, too naïve for this cruel world. Itach stared at him and slowly nodded. _

"_Yes, Outoto." He said shortly with a nod and Sasuke's eyes widened. _

"_Why didn't you tell me?!" Sasuke yelled. Itachi just stared at him. Sasuke's eyes softened "Why?" His voice broke as he asked. _

"_My reasons was so that you could kill me and return as a hero not scum." Itachi said. Nobody was really surprised at the calmness in his voice, it was normal anyhow. Sasuke stared Itachi down. _

_"I''ll kill him. I'll kill Danzo for the Uchiha's" That day he promised himself that he would slaughter Danzo for what he did. He would pay for this treason against the Uchiha's. _

_Itachi walked to where Sasuke was covered in rope. "I'll stand by you, Outoto." He promised as he let Sasuke go. Sasuke looked at him and nodded. _

"_Welcome to the Akatsuki.. Sasuke Uchiha.." Pain said calmly. Sasuke turned his head to Pain. He stared for a while at the leader before slowly nodding. _

Itachi's mind drifted to that day where he and Sasuke promised to kill Danzo. Sasuke also joined the Akatsuki that day. Pain probably had his reasons for recuiting him, but even Itachi, the Uchiha genius, didn't know his reasons and it best stay his reasons.

He knew of Madara Uchiha, of course. Few people in the organization knew of him, but rather Tobi. ,the energetic knuckle-head. He was Zetsu's subordinate and also colleague, but was now Deidera's partner. How 'Tobi' stomached Zetsu's appatite, was unkown to the Akatsuki members. The only people who knew of Madara's true identity was Kisame, Pain, Konan, Itachi and now Sasuke.

Itachi turned his head around to face the new member. Hyuga Hinata. He didn't know what her power level was. The only thing he knew of her was her bloodline trait and the fact that pain wants her for the Akatsuki, and that was enough for Itachi.

It was already four days now. Four days that they travelled, only stopping to replenish and get some sleep in. It wasn't long now before they arrived at Amagakure. The place where Pain was waiting. It was unusual for him to recruit a female member beside Konan, but then again, Konan was a formidable shinobi. This stuttering woman was also probably a great shinobi, just like Konan.

Kisame, who was only a step behind him, yawned and swung Samaheada onto his shoulder. Itachi held deep respect for his partner as does Kisame for Itachi. They were most likely the strongest team in the Akatsuki. Their main purpose was to eliminate and assassinate people who became to big of a problem for the organization.

The girl was a step behind Kisame, her eyes fixed stubbornly in front of her. Not trusting herself enough to look at the two men. Itachi was surprised at her when she accepted. Especially for a Hyuga. He remembered how proper the Hyuga clan were. They were, after all, the rival clan of the Uchiha, it was normal to know so much of the Hyuga clan. Judging by the lack of curse mark on her forehead, she was from the Main Branch family.

"Judging from your clean forehead, you're from the Main Branch family?"Itachi voiced his thoughts. Her head snapped up to meet his gaze.

"H-Hai. I was the h-heir" She stuttered. Itachi and Kisame was shocked, the only difference was that Itachi concealed it better.

"Nani?"Kisame asked, eyes wide. "What's a Hyuga princess doing with the Akatsuki?"He smirked.

Hinata scowled slightly. "I want nothing to do with the H-Hyuga's a-any more" she said shortly.

"Hn." Itachi said, turning back to the road. Kisame grinned at her words, of course.

"Tch.. One more day, hime" Kisame said. Hinata turned her eyes back to the road in front of her, scowling slightly at the nickname he gave her. Kisame saw the look that she gave, he chuckled at her.

They all went back to the way it was before Itachi asked the question. This was how it went for the whole four days that they travelled. Small conversations here and there, mostly about Hinata. They, being few of the mature members, didn't pry for unnecessary information. That was the other members, like Deidera or Hidan's job.

A few hours later found Hinata and the other two members on the outskirts of a small village. This was the place they would sleep to replenish their energy so they could make it to Amagakure faster.

Once they were in the village, they were given curious glances. Hinata wore plain shinobi clothes, black long vest with a chunin vest over it along with the standard trousers all shinobi wore. While she looked like any shinobi who would come through the village, Kisame and Itachi on the other hand, received more curious glances for wearing such clothes.

They ignored the glances they got and moved forward, Hinata fidgeting only slightly. Kisame sneered at all people brave enough to try and venture closer. The sneer taking immediate effect since all the people who even stared, ran away.

Itachi was slightly annoyed with the girl's behaviour. Was she always like this? Or was she merely like those shinobi who believes in misconception? Those shinobi were the people who are much more powerful than they let on to believe. The thought irked him slightly. He had yet to see her level of power she might have, but for the time being, she remained a curious case.

He heard Hinata sigh in relief as they stepped foot in a small inn. The place was severely in bad condition. The wall colours were faded with stains all over the walls in patches. The wooden floor creaked as they moved over it. Hinata's eyes wandered over the room in poorly hidden disgust, likely caused by the roach that ran past her line of vision.

They walked to the counter. A young woman stood behind it, examining her nails with a bored expression on her face. Itachi assumed she was no older than nineteen. Hinata stepped forward and talked quietly, "E-excuse me?"

Groaning the woman looked up "what?" she asked rudely. Itachi barely contained a smirk when he saw something in Hinata's eyes snap. Kisame, however, grinned at the sight.

"A room for three, _please_?" Hinata asked calmly, but with a slight sharpness in her voice. The girl sneered at her before grabbing a key from the rack behind her. She stared at her for a while before throwing the key on the counter.

Hinata grabbed the key and immediately turned to go, but not before activating her bloodline, to which Kisame and Itachi were surprised by. She fixed the girl a glare, making the girl visibly shiver at the sight.

Kisame stared in shock at Hinata before finally grinning. Itachi smirked slightly at the small girl. When she resumed walking, they both followed in tow. She opened the door to Room 12, they were all shocked in which state the room was.

The room looked worse than the room they had previously been in. The floor was covered in a filthy carpet with unknown stains littering it. The curtains were ripped at the end so it looked like some savage beast ran its claws through it. Hinata stared in disgust at the room. There were only two beds and one couch.

Hinata sighed softly and removed her backpack. She turned to face Itachi and Kisame. "A-ano.. I'll take the c-couch" she stuttered.

"Hn" Itachi merely said and walked over to one of the beds.

"Tch. The little princess can't sleep on the couch, its improper" Kisame mocked. Hinata folded her arms across her chest, insulted. Kisame laughed at her and removed his Akatsuki cloak. He plopped down onto the couch, to which Hinata scowled at him softly about.

She walked over to the bed. She stared at it for a moment before silently beginning to pat it down. Kisame, who was staring at her, grinned, tempted to mock her. She glared at him out of the corner of her eye as she dusted of the bed. Hinata sighed before removing her vest and sandals. Finally, she laid on the covers of the bed, since it was much to warm to lay under the thick covers.

Itachi switched off the light, but not before talking to the both of them, "We leave at day break.". With that being said, all three Akatsuki's slept lightly.

BreakLine

The next morning came and all three were ready to move in few minutes time. Unfortunately, the food that they had, were up so they had to rely on soldier pills to fill them up. That didn't stop them though, they moved out, only stopping to pay their room.

The next few hours were incredibly long for Hinata. Unlike the previous days, they ran instead of walking. She had gotten use to Itachi's silence and Kisame's occasional taunting. It scared her, though, the thought of getting use to them. Sure she was still wary of them, but not as much as she were the first day she saw them or the day she first went with them

The pang in her heart was still there every morning that she woke up. That feeling only came when reality of being away from home struck her. She missed home terribly, but she won't think about it. She won't allow herself to become weak and fail her father by failing this mission. She had to become another person. To stop this insufferable stuttering and start acting like a true Hyuga and true Akatsuki member. It was the only way to get through this harsh mission and surviving.

She briefly wondered, as she jumped from tree to tree, who her partner would be, if she will get any. Every time she saw the Akatsuki, they worked in two men teams. Like Kisame and Itachi. It was likely that she was either replacing someone or they were merely recruiting shinobi.

While she was in Konoha, she heard rumours about Sakura killing Sasori of the Sand, she also read about few other Akatsuki members which included Deidera, Kisame, Itachi, Hidan, and a Kakuzu person. She didn't like what she read. They all were listed as dangerous and being at S-rank. All deflected from their previous villages. She, however, didn't know exactly what villages they come from only that Itachi came from the very village she deflected from. Only she was on a mission. It was his own choice to leave Konoha after the massacre.

In the far distance, she saw a village that were covered by dark clouds and rain. She knew Amagakure village was the Village Hidden in Rain, but this seemed so fitting for that of an Akatsuki leader.

She was scared. She's going to meet the leader today and this day is going to be the changing point in her life. After this, there's no going back, she told herself.

Itach and Kisame looked at her over their shoulder. Making sure she was still behind them and not backing out. She stared back at them, her stare not wavering. Kisame smirked and Itachi turned back, still able to hold his calm posterior as he jumped down onto the ground.

"We will take you to Leader-sama, but after that we will leave you. We have a mission to complete after dropping you off." Itach said calmly as they walked into the village. Rain pelted down on them and Hinata nodded.

"Hai." She said. She won't back down. For Naruto-kun, she'll see this mission through. He won't be killed just because she can't finish a mission fully.

"Tch. Let's get this over with" Kisame voiced from behind her. She looked at him for a moment before nodding her head and continuing her journey behind Itachi.

This village was much more different than the last village. There were no glares or curious glances. The people only looked at them for a mere second before going back to their daily jobs or hobbies. It was like they were so used to it, the Akatsuki members passing through.

They weaved their way through the village before stopping in front of a very high tower. The tower seemed to be the highest of all the towers in the village. It seemed to be cowering over the village. The perfect place to observe and watch the entire Amagakure.

Itachi nodded to her before jumping up. She watched him for a moment until he disappeared at the very top. Kisame grinned at her before doing the same. She followed suit quickly.

Once she reached the top of the tower, she first saw Kisame and Itachi, but there were a third person in the room. He radiated a powerful energy that demanded respect. He had multiple piercings and had red hair with purple ringed eyes. He was sitting lazily on the side of the room on the window seat.

He saw her coming through the other window, immediately standing up.

"Hinata Hyuga. So you have accepted to join the Akatsuki. A wise decision on your part." He said calmly. She nodded her head slowly. He scared her much more than Kisame or even Itachi did.

"H-hai." She said and immediately cursed herself for stuttering like a blabbering fool in front of her new leader. Once her feet touched the ground, she bowed politely to him.

A woman entered the room. She also had piercings in her face. Like her new leader, she too had a calm and powerful energy around her. Her eyes met Hinata's eyes.

"So the new recruit has finally arrived. I will bring her cloak up, immediately" She said and turned around to go get what she said. They surely didn't waste time, that's for sure.

"I am Pain. But you shall call me Leader-sama, like the rest of the Akatsuki. Welcome to our organization. The woman who just entered, was Konan. My colleague." He said. Not seconds later, Konan reappeared, heavy material in her arms. She handed it to Hinata.

"The ring on top will be used for communication and for when we need to extract tailed beast's chakra." Konan said and Hinata inwardly flinched at her words about the tailed beasts. Naruto-kun was a Jinchuriki and that meant they will have to go after him eventually. No. She'll stop that before they had him.

Hinata bowed politely, "Arigato" She said. Konan nodded her head and joined Leader-sama by standing next to him. Kisame and Itachi were currently standing in the far end of the room, merely observing the scene before them.

"Itachi, Kisame, you may leave. You have a mission to complete" He mentioned for them to go.

Itachi nodded, "Hai, Leader-sama. We shall report to you after we have completed our mission." He said and politely bowed to him. It surprised Hinata. For such a powerful shinobi to bow to somebody else was extraordinary. It just showed how powerful this shinobi before her is.

Kisame patted her shoulder and bowed to Leader-sama. "See you, hime" He grinned before following Itachi out the window.

"It's a good thing you have arrived when you did. Since the person you will be working on is at the moment here" Pain said, just then another person entered the scene.

She gasped as she saw who it was. The man that stood before her, was none other than Sasuke Uchiha. He seemed to have recognized her since his eyes widened by a fraction, but was still able to remain passive.

"Ah. It seems you both know each other. Good, since you will be now working together." Pain said. Hinata was shocked. What was he doing here of all places?

"Hn." Sasuke merely said.

**TBC**

A/N: I'll just leave it to that. Its a pretty much boring chapter, but this is only the beginning, the interesting stuff is yet to reveal itself. Well, I hope you all were at least a little bit surprised. Tips and suggestions are always welcome.

I don't really know how to portray Kisame really well or Itachi, so any suggestions will do me good. Sorry if some of the characters were OOC. I'll do my best to fix them if they are a bit OOC.

Also, my grammar and punctuation sometimes sucks and especially if I'm writing when I usually sleep xD. Oh well..

Please review, it will do me very good and the story.

-Ronni C.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer**: The series, Naruto, was never and will never be mine. All that is mine is the plot to this fanfiction.

**A/N**: As you all could see, I don't update too slowly. Writing this story is an amazing stress reliever for when you write final exams. I couldn't find time really to reply to every review, but I want to say thank you so much for all of your reviews, I appreciate the motivation and help that you guys offer. Please R&R. Without further ado, the story:

**Different Worlds, Same Heart**

**Chapter 3:**

She stared at him on the tree, which she was hiding on top of. Sasuke was crouching, Sharingan activated, looking for her. Their Akatsuki robes were discarded a few meters away next to a large tree. They were both now in a clearing, surrounded by trees. Both of them decided to get familiar with each other's strong and weak points in their fighting technique while they were travelling to their base.

Hinata hid her chakra well as to not alert the man in front of her. He was nothing short of an amazing shinobi. He smirked as his eyes landed to the tree where she was hiding to catch her breath.

Gasping, she used chakra to enhance her jump off the tree as Sasuke drove his Chidori covered hand into the tree. The effect was immediate. The tree received a whole in it as the lighting was drove into it.

Slightly annoyed at his senses, Hinata ran at him, her hands covered in her very own technique, Twin Step Lion Fist. His eyes widened at her sudden increase of speed. Her taijutsu was extraordinary, he noted while she ruthlessly attacked him.

"Fire ball jutsu" He said and released the fire that was within him. She jumped out of the blazing fire ball. Pleased with her distraction, Sasuke jumped behind her with a burst of chakra.

She froze as she felt the cool metal of a kunai against her neck while an arm grabbed hers, effectively trapping it behind her back. "Dead" He said, impassively. Although he was sweating and breathing slightly heavy, he was still calm.

Hinata scowled at him. "H-hai" She muttered. He released her while giving her a slight smirk. She rubbed her now slightly bruised arm while glaring softly at him.

Both his, Sharingan, and her, Byakugan, were now deactivated. "We'll need to work on your reaction timing" He said.

Inner Hinata yelled profanities inside Hinata's head. Screaming that she'll show him 'her reaction' and that it would be so fast he won't be able to dodge it. Hinata, however, merely nodded her head, muttering a small, "Hai"

He stared at her for a while, "Hn." He said and walked over to where their cloaks laid. He grabbed them both and turned around to look at her. "We should go so we can reach the base today" He said and held out her cloak for her to wear.

Hinata nodded her head before running to grab her cloak. She smiled uncertainly to him as she put it over her new shinobi wear, a form fitting black, sleeveless shirt with usual shinobi black pants paired with the usual Akatsuki shoes.

Sasuke, who already was dressed in his Akatsuki cloak, nodded to her before taking off into the tree tops. She stared after him for a few seconds, before taking off herself.

It was nightfall when they landed on the ground in front of a small house. The small, run down house was located in the Land of Fire. It was far from Konoha, but was surrounded completely by a thick forest. The house was a normal house, nothing special at all. Much smaller than the houses she was used to living in.

Sasuke tapped her on the shoulder, snapping her from staring at the house. She nodded to him and so both of them ventured into the house.

"Tobi! I'll kill you when I catch you, un!" Hinata gasped at what she saw. Sasuke blinked a few times to make sure he was seeing right. A blonde man was chasing another man with an orange mask on. The blonde man, holding few clay bugs by the looks of it while the other man ran for his life. Hinata was shocked, but Sasuke was shocked at how Madara Uchiha could be chased around like that. It was probably like they told him of. Madara's cover, Tobi.

They seemed to have noticed that they had guests staring at them, because they stopped mid motion. Tobi clinging to the carpet while the blonde man had a hold on his foot. The blonde man snapped out of it after a while of staring. "Who're you, un?" He asked standing straight, a hand in his pouch that was strapped onto his waist.

He looked suspiciously at their Akatsuki robes. Hinata shook her head to clear her initial shock. She smiled and walked over to him and Tobi. "H-Hinata Hyuga and this is S-Sasuke Uchiha, we're both n-new to the Akatsuki." She said while mentioning to Sasuke.

Sasuke crossed his arms over his chest and stared at the man, waiting for him to explain himself. The blonde man, with long hair and an Ino-style bang covering his eye, grinned.

"So you're the new reqruits? Welcome to the Akatsuki. This is Tobi-" He kicked Tobi with his foot, a scowl adorning his face, "- and I'm Deidera, un." He said.

Hinata smiled at him, "P-Pleasure to meet the both of you, Tobi-san, Deidera-san" She said bowing politely at the both of them.

Tobi jumped to his feet, startling Hinata. He grabbed her hand, shaking it vigorously. "Nice to meet you too, Hinata-chan!" He said enthusiastically. Hinata gasped and tried to release her hand, but to no avail. The enthusiastic man was, well, too enthusiastic.

She chuckled nervously when he finally released her hand. Sasuke stared at them, sceptically. "So we're all house mates now, un?" Deidera asked. Hinata nodded.

"Hn." Sasuke said. Deidera grinned at the answer,

"Ne, you sound like your brother. They live here too, un" He said. Sasuke's eyes widened slightly before reverting back to it's lazy gaze.

Hinata sighed. "Ano.. C-can you show us to our room, D-Deidera-san?" she asked softly.

"Drop the formality, Hinata-chan. We're comrades now, un." He grinned as he said those words. He mentioned for them to follow him by waving them forward. He led the both of them through the long hallway. As they walked through the house, Hinata and Sasuke noted where the bathroom and kitchen were. Since they met in the living room, the kitchen was just next to it and the bathroom, the first door in the hallway.

The long hallway held seven doors, much to Hinata's surprise. One being the bathroom while the rest were rooms. Probably because there were three groups residing in the house. The groups being Kisame and Itachi, Deidera and Tobi, and lastly, Hinata and Sasuke.

Tobi were marching behind them. Hinata stiffled a giggle that threatened to escape as she occasionally looked behind her at Tobi walking like a soldier. All that Sasuke did was roll his eyes.

Hinata, still giggling softly at Tobi, failed to see Deidera stop, making her crash into his hard back. She rubbed her now hurt forehead. Deidera looked at her from over his shoulder and laughed at her, to which she half hearted scowled at.

"This is your room, un. The room across it will be Sasuke's room" He said mentioning to the two rooms.

"Arigato" Hinata mumbled and carefully entered her room that Deidera pointed out.

"Hn" Sasuke muttered before following suit into his respective room. Tobi clapped his hands together and went to follow Hinata into her room until Deidera grabbed his collar, effectively yanking him backward.

"D-Deidera-sempai?" Tobi stuttered as he saw the murderous look in Deidera's eyes.

"I'm not done with you yet, un" He said. Tobi gulped audibly before taking off in a run. Deidera immediately followed.

Break

She stared at her room in slight awe. Although the house looked rather small from outside, it was spacious inside. Her room size was decent enough, not the huge rooms they were supplied with in the main branch, but decent. It may need some decorating since it was a bare white room. Her sheets were grey, the same as her curtains that hung at the window.

Hinata sighed softly as she heard Tobi scream from outside her room. This would take a while to get used to, though. Tobi being a little too enthusiastic while Deidera almost seemed normal, keyword: Almost. As he was guiding them through the house, she briefly noted the mouths on both his hands. She wasn't necessarily disgusted, merely surprised. Yes, it would most definitely take a while to get used to.

She sat down on her bed, before removing her back pack from her back. Opening it, she removed her old clothes before putting it on her bed to pack away. Next was her kunai's, shuriken's, and healing ointments. She stared at them for a while. The ointment brought back memories of the her first Chunin Exams when Naruto had to fight against Kiba-kun. She had to be brave to give it to Naruto-kun. She nearly fainted, but nonetheless gave it to him with shaking hands while adorning a scarlet blush.

"Hyuga." She whirled around with a gasp. How did she not sense him earlier.

"Sasuke-kun, w-what's the m-matter?" She asked softly, her hand grasping at where her heart was.

"Hn. We'll need to get supplies in the nearest village, like clothes" He said, leaning against her door frame with arms crossed in front of his chest.

"Hai, w-we can't live with just t-this" She muttered. He nodded to her.

"L-Leader-sama requested our presence as soon as we reached it to o-our base" She said. He shrugged and went to lay against her bed on the floor.

"Lets get this over with." He said and closed his eyes, his conciousness drifting to where it was said to meet at. She quickly followed suit by sitting on her bed, cross legged.

Closing her eyes, she focused her chakra just like Leader-sama told them to. She reopened her eyes to find herself on what appeared to be a finger of large statue. Sasuke stood next to her, sharingan activated. She turned her head around and came face to face with their Leader's hologram. His purple ringed eyes looked intently at them, he seemed to be scowling. Next to him stood a female hologram which appeared to be the Akatsuki's angel, Konan.

"You seem to be late, were there problems as to get here?" Pain asked calmly, but both Sasuke and Hinata knew different. He was annoyed at their lateness, of course. Sasuke regarded him with a stare of his own.

"No problems, we just stopped to get used to one another's skills" Sasuke said, apparently no fear at all resided in his body at the moment. Hinata held her breath for her new Leader's reaction.

He stared impassively at the both of them. "Be sure to not let it happen again, there might be consequences." He said. Hinata breathed out in relief.

"We have a mission for the both of you to go on immediately. I want you to track a missing nin who goes by the name of Urahara, they say he's in hiding now in Kasai village. I want you to find him, steal the scroll from him and eliminate him as soon as possible. He holds valuable information on the Akatsuki that may or may not leak out." He said to them.

"H-Hai, we'll do it" Hinata agreed to the mission for the both of them. Sasuke looked a bit irked at the news of getting a mission he's required to do, but he accepted nonetheless.

"But I must recommend that you be careful. The person working for me in that village, said that there are Leaf nin on the man's trail already. We do not want any trouble at the moment, avoid confrontation at all cost" Pain said. Hinata almost gasped. _What_? She thought. She just hoped it wasn't someone from Konoha 11 that she may have to face.

Sasuke's face looked unintrested in the news. She almost cursed at him for his lack of emotion. They might see Naruto, or Sakura, maybe even Team 8 since they specialized in tracking.

"We'll be careful, L-Leader-sama" Hinata said to Pain. Sasuke nodded as she talked. Pain regarded them with a stern face.

"You may leave, but heed my warnings to be careful" He said. Hinata bowed respectively, as did Sasuke reluctantly.

She raised her hand in a seal before opening her eyes, finding herself back on top of her new bed. Sasuke seemed to come back at the same time as her. He stood up and cracked his probably sore neck. They weren't long gone from their bodies, but the effect was still there.

Hinata sighed as she stood up, her back audibly cracking at the strain of standing. Her eyes went to Sasuke's eyes. To see something, anything that can give her hope that he had emotions and that someday he'll make Naruto-kun very happy by coming back to Konoha. She was saddened when she found nothing.

"Ano.. We should leave right away if we w-want to make it to Kusai village in few days" She muttered and stuffed her kunai's, shuriken's and ointment into her pouch in her Akatsuki robes.

"Hn" Sasuke said and left her room. Hinata sighed and followed him out.

Break

"Are we clear on your mission, Kakashi, Shikamaru? The Akatsuki may have the same intentions of getting that information from Urahara, so I don't want to send Shino or Kiba on this mission. Make certain that you get that information" Tsunade ordered the two shinobi that stood in front of her desk.

Both of them didn't really know Hinata so it wouldn't be a problem at all, except for them being the two most laziest shinobi's she ever laid her eyes on.

"It'll be troublesome, but I'll do it" Shikamaru muttered, his hands in his pocket, giving of the whole persona that basically screamed _lazy. _

Kakashi sighed. Tsunade could see the boredom in his half lidded eye that was visible. "Alright, Lady Tsunade, we'll make sure this mission is completed" He said.

"Go now! You don't have much time!" Tsunade yelled and watched the two shinobi slowly nodding before disappearing.

"Shizune! Get me some sake!" Tsunade yelled. Shizune cringed visibly with the pink pig in her arms.

"H-Hai, Lady Tsunade!" She exclaimed and ran to get some immediately for the visibly stressed woman.

Tsunade sighed and rubbed her sore head. She almost regretted sending those two shinobi out for a mission. This should have been an Anbu mission, but she had to admit, even though those two were lazy and almost always late, they were reliable. She chose Kakashi and Shikamaru because of their amazing skills.

Kakashi had amazing tracking skills paired with his sharingan that rivalled an Uchiha's sharingan. Shikamaru was an amazing genius with an IQ above two hundred and above that he was amazing with strategies. The man would have been upgraded to Jonin in no time, but the lazy genius was much to lazy to accept the position. Merely saying its too 'troublesome'.

She just hoped they completed this mission without any problems. This information could help them get furhter in defeating the Akatsuki once and for all, saving Konoha from their clutches.

Tsunades face lightened up when she saw Shizune come in, Tonton in tow behind her, holding a box full of bottles that were filled up with Sake, Tsunade's most famous stress reliever.

"Ahh.. Thank you, Shizune" Tsunade exclaimed before grabbing the closest bottle of Sake and taking a large gulp of it, savoring the burn it gave her throat.

Break

Leaves crunched under their feet as they ran, switching from the road to tree tops every time they ran out of trees to jump on. It was their first mission as Akatsuki members, they best make a good impression on Pain and not disappoint him or the other Akatsuki members.

"Sasuke-kun?" Hinata called out warily from behind him. He looked over his shoulder with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes?" He asked, slightly annoyed at her. She sighed softly.

"Ano.. We have to p-pick up the p-pace. I have a feeling there's more ninja's on their way to K-Kusai Village" She mumbled and immediately picking up the pace with a short burst of chakra.

His eyebrows raised slightly before he nodded at her."Hn." He said and followed suit. Their speed increasing more. She was right. They both needed to make good impressions on Pain for their respective reasons.

His reason being to use the Akatsuki to kill Danzo for ordering the massacre and manipulating Itachi Uchiha, his aniki.

Her reason being for her friends, Naruto-kun and the rest of the village. All their fates might as well lay in her hands. If she fails, she fails all of them. So failing this mission is unacceptable at the most and it will not be tollerated at all by Pain or herself. Anything for her home.

**TBC**

**A/N:** Thank you for reading. Any tips and suggestions or corrections are welcome any time. I plan to add another story to write while I'm writing this one, since this one is fun enough to write, I want another story to write when I have free time in this exams. If you want to give a suggestion for a story, like a pairing or just a plain story, you can give it in the reviews or in PM, either way I don't mind.

I have much planned for this story, I'm planning to make it go 30+ chapters or so and making it to 110k+ words at the least.

Please Review, since it makes me very glad to add another chapter sooner.

Arigato

-Ronni C.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: **I'm soo sorry that it took longer than a week to update DWSH, but I had finals so it took longer than expected. I hope you like this chapter though. Please R&R and tell me what you think of this one. I apologize in advance if you see incorrect spelling, grammar or punctuation.

**Disclaimer: **Not mine, never was and never will be. It belongs solely to Kishimoto.

**Different Worlds Same Heart**

**Chapter 4:**

Rain dripped down from the sky on Hinata and Sasuke. Luckily for them, they both had their Akatsuki straw hats on, blocking the rain from irritating their faces while they walked through the small village. Years ago, she hated the rain. Until her mother showed what rain can do good. It's the beginning to new life and a true blessing for those who needs it the most.

This village was nothing special, unless you thought the shopkeeper selling cabbages was an interesting fellow.. Sasuke rolled his eyes at the man screaming for his cabbages that were getting wet from the rain fall. Hinata giggled, on the other hand, at the antics of the aged man.

He stopped in front of a dango shop, making her almost crash into his solid back. She looked at him questioningly.

"Sasuke-kun?" Hinata asked. Sasuke nodded to the shop, "Are you hungry?" He asked.

She was about to shake her head for no, until a rather load sound echoed from her stomach. Hinata was horrified and covered her red face with her hands. Sasuke raised his eyebrow at the Hyuga in front of him.

He smirked at her, amused. "Come, Hinata. We can eat here" He said and mentioned her forward with a light push on Hinata's shoulder.

Hinata looked at him and walked forward into the dango shop. A young woman, that stood waiting at the nearby wall, smiled at them.

"Seat for two?" She asked. Hinata almost cringed at the fake sweet voice the women had.

"Hn" Sasuke said, nodding towards the woman. She smiled at the both of them again before leading them toward a table in the corner of the shop.

As they took a seat at the two seat table, Hinata looked around the small shop. People talked idly around them, not paying them any attention at all. They were probably use to strange people travelling through their small village, some being ninjas after all. Oh how she envied them being normal. It wasn't as if she hated being a ninja, it was what she wanted to be ever since she saw her father fight. She was a ninja for herself and her friends she wanted to protect.

Sasuke folded his hands in front of him as soon as the woman left their side. "Leader-sama might be right about the Konoha nin being after the same target" he said to Hinata. She nodded her head.

"H-Hai. Knowing lady Tsunade, she would send out their best tracker ninja to try and find them before us." Hinata said.

"Hn. We should just be on our guard then. They probably know that the Akatsuki is on the same mission and because of that, they would send Jonin level shinobi" He said, appearing to be deep in thought, thinking likely on every possible situation.

"We c-can deal with it w-when the time comes, Sasuke-kun" She said softly. He nodded, but was still thinking very deeply about the Konoha nin topic.

"Can I take your order?" a sweet voice asked and Hinata immediately winced inwardly at her voice. Hinata smiled at the woman as she turned around. Her and Sasuke's hats were already discarded on the table in front of them. Hinata noted that the woman's name was Chira from her name tag.

"Chichi dango for me" Hinata said to the woman and turned to Sasuke.

"Same" He said waving the woman off. Hinata furrowed her brows at his rudeness. The woman, Chira, merely smiled as she wrote down their orders in a small book she carried around.

After she left, Hinata turned to Sasuke. "W-what is our plan to catch the target?" she asked softly.

He shrugged, "We simply look for the man with a genjutsu on him. After we know who he is, we will wait until the right moment, when he is alone, and then we strike to get the scroll" he said. Hinata frowned. Was it really that simple? It probably was. The only hard thing might be the Konoha nin's that was probably on their way right now.

"Alright, Sasuke-kun" She said.

"Call me just Sasuke. When you add the -kun, it reminds me of my fan girls" He said and appeared to shiver. Hinata giggled softly.

"Hai, S-Sasuke. I still remember those girls" Hinata said, still amused at his words. She remembered how they were. Always following him around everywhere and hanging on his every word. How annoying they probably were..

Sasuke nodded, "Hn. They followed me every where I went." He said and Hinata laughed. He scowled at her for laughing at him.

"Ano.. Gomen, I thought about Sakura-chan" She said when she ceased laughing. Sasuke crossed his arms in front of him and nodded.

They both turned their attention to the waitress coming back with their dango. Hinata smiled at the woman when she put their plates in front of them.

"Enjoy" She chirped brightly at Hinata and Sasuke. They both nodded to her and she left.

"Itidakimasu" Hinata mumbled before taking a small bite out of the sweet dango.

Sasuke soon followed. Both eating in silence, rather focusing on eating the food. Hinata being the one now thinking of the mission. All the possibilities ran through her head, like the people Tsunade could have sent. She started listing all the people that could be sent, like Neji, Kakashi, Kiba, or any other shinobi with tracking abilities. It wasn't so likely that they would send someone she knew, but there always will be the possibility.

Sasuke stood up and mentioned her for her to do also so. "Hn. Lets go. It's getting dark and we should probably find an inn for the time we stay here" He said.

"H-Hai" She said and followed him, but not after he put the necessary yen on the table for the waiter.

It was still raining the time they stepped out of the dango shop. The only sound in the streets were now the rain on their hats and their footsteps, once a child that ran over the street presumingly into his cosy home. The homes they passed were brightly lit since it was already night.

After a few minutes they finally reached a house that had a sign over it which read, 'Kusai Inn'. Hinata quickly walked inside to get out of the rain.

An elderly woman stood observing a painting behind an antique table. She was the picture perfect version of a typical grandmother. She wore a black and red kimono, grey hair that was held up in a bun with wrinkles adorning her face. When she spotted the two of them, she smiled brightly at them making the wrinkles on her face more apparent.

"Why, good afternoon! Are you two looking for a room?" She asked, turning to them. Hinata nodded with a wholehearted smile.

"Y-Yes, please" Hinata said bowing formally to the woman. She waved her hand signalling that there was no need to bow to her.

"Alright, dearie. Room 3 down the hall to your left" The woman said and handed the key to Sasuke. She mentioned to the hall that were a few meters away from the table which she stood behind.

Hinata smiled at the woman once more before hurrying after Sasuke's retreating form. He unlocked the door that had a small metal plank hanging on it with a number three on it.

When he opened the door, she was pleasantly surprised that it was in much better condition than the previous inn that she had to share with Kisame and Itachi when they were on their way to Amagakure. The room was in one piece, no shredded curtains, or odd stains on the carpet. It held a small air of antic to it, just like the old table in the front room.

There was only one problem with it, there was only one bed in the room with the exception of a couch. The woman must have misinterpreted them for a couple. Sasuke noticed Hinata's discomfort and smirked.

"Hn.. Don't worry, I'll take the couch" he said and went to lie down on it. Hinata breathed out in relief.

"A-Ano, thank you, Sasuke-kun." she said to him. She smiled at him half heartedly and walked into the bathroom, closing the door behind her swiftly.

She quickly turned on the water in the shower and undressed. Raising a hand to feel the water, she hissed at the sudden contact of hot water. She turned the cold water tab on a little more before climbing into the shower, sighing in content.

She let thoughts and memories take her over of her time in her home with her mother. How she missed her mother being always there for her and being able to take her tears away with just one hug. She missed her family the most in Konoha, even more than she missed Naruto. Her sister, her mother, Neji-niisan and even her cold father- that had a soft side to him.

After the chunin exams, both her father and Neji appreciated her more and respected her. When she was the second in the Konoha 11 to reach Jonin level, after Neji, her father was ecstatic -not that it showed- and most of all, proud of her. Not even Sakura-chan or the rest of Konoha 11 made it so far in the three years after Naruto-kun's departure to train.

She and Neji had more sparring matches and he started to see her as an equal rather than a snob from the main branch family. He occasionally had the moments for when he was over protective over her, since they developed a more brother and sister relationship. He vowed to protect her more and watch over her.

In those three years she made quite many improvements. Like looking people more often in the eye, rather than blushing and looking away when people made eye contact with her. She even lost her stutters, not completely, but it wasn't so much as it has been. Team 8 became more closer than ever before in the years and for that she was glad.

It broke her heart to think about what they were saying right now about her. Her father may be disappointed in her and Neji was probably mad at her. Do they hate her now?

Hinata shook her head vigorously. She leaned against the cold tiles of the shower wall, determination filling her whole being.

_I won't let them down. This mission will be completed and everyone would be proud of me. I'll become a better person, even lose my stutter. Next time we meet, Naruto-kun, I'll walk beside you, not behind you like the coward I used to be. _She said to herself. Yes. It will take time to lose all the annoying quirks she had like the low self esteem or that annoying, damn stutter she still had occasionally.

She quickly regained her composure and turned the water off. Wrapping a fluffy white towel around her toned body, she stepped out of the shower.

After dressing herself, she turned the bathroom light off. Walking out of the room, she noted that Sauske was fast asleep on the couch. The couch was too small for his body and so his legs were hanging over the side a bit. With his right arm supporting his neck, he looked peaceful, definitely not the 'cold-hearted' traitor everyone was talking about.

She smiled softly and climbed into her own bed. Turning the light off, she sunk contently into the small comfort of the bed.

She let sleep take over when she closed her heavy lidded eyes. Dreams of the Akatsuki mission and family and friends that hates her haunted her for the rest of the night.

This determination might be a good thing. It would make her even more hell-bent on succeeding this mission.

-**xxx**-

Hinata shrieked when she opened her eyes and came face to face with Sasuke Uchiha's face that was merely few inches away from her face, observing it.

He stepped back and smirked, "Good, you're awake."

"N-Nani?" She finally gasped out.

"Get ready, we leave in an hour to search through the city" He said, folding his arms and walking into the bathroom, shutting it behind him. She scowled at the closed door.

Yawning, she stood up and started to get ready by putting on her cloak and untangling her hair with her hands while she waited for Sasuke to finish in the bathroom so she can have her turn.

It was rather strange when she thought about it. It was just like a normal team mission with Kiba and Shino, the only difference was that it was Sasuke and not them. She wasn't so trustworthy of Sasuke and she probably wasn't for him, but it came from being missing nin's now. She knew that one day someone will ask why she abandoned Konoha and she would just have to lie about it and fake reasons. Unfortunately, she would have to be careful around Sasuke. He wasn't stupid and therefore would suspect something.

When Sasuke finally stepped out of the shower, she breathed out in relief. She quickly walked into the bathroom and closed the door behind her.

After she brushed her teeth and fixed her dishevelled appearance, she looked at herself in the mirror. The trade mark Hyuga eyes stared back at her, unblinking. The boyish cut she had few years ago was now replaced with long black hair that held a purple tint to it. She blinked few times and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes.

"I'm ready" She said when she stepped out of the bathroom. He raised an eyebrow at her. Something was different, not with the way she looked but something else, he thought.

"Hn. Let's go." Sasuke said and walked out of the room, Hinata trailing behind him. Locking the door, they continued their way out of the building, only stopping to greet the old woman a good bye. Whole hearted bye and good morning from Hinata, while Sasuke merely waved at the woman, uninterested.

The village was much more busy than the previous day. Villagers were all around the streets, children playing while mothers chatted nearby or wasn't nearby at all, shopkeepers busy setting their stands up or opening their doors to greet the next costumers. Hinata and Sasuke both had activated their Byakugan and Sharingan to look around the village in search of the man under genjutsu.

After walking half the morning they came to the conclusion to stop by at a shop to eat breakfast before continuing their search of the man. Hinata and Sasuke both took separate turns to rest their eyes a while before continuing, and therefore stopping to get breakfast was a huge relief to both of them.

Entering the shop, the both of them quickly ordered and went to find a seat in the corner where they couldn't be easily spotter and where they could observe people from outside walking past or in the shop it self.

The shop was quite fast, because after ten minutes of sitting in silence and looking for any irregular chakra patterns or any signs of genjutsu, the drinks arrived.

Hinata was the one with a more plain option of juice and Sasuke was the one with just a glass of water. Quietly drinking, Sasuke raised his eyes and nudged Hinata's leg with his foot, signalling she should follow his gaze of vision.

She activated her Byakugan silently and nodded to Sasuke. The man in the front of the room, talking to a woman behind the counter, had a genjutsu placed on himself to alter his appearance.

"We'll follow him after he leaves" She whispered and he nodded to her, his eyes still deep red.

They both secretly stared at him, waiting for when he left the shop and when he did they paid their fee, without waiting for their food, and left the shop to follow the man.

The man, disguised as an average villager, walked swiftly into alleys and making random turns, most likely trying to shake the two of them.

Finally after a whole half hour of following the man, he led them toward a deserted courtyard.

_Hn. Idiot. _Sasuke thought and stared at the quivering man with his red eyes, unwavering. Hinata stood next to him, her own Byakugan activated, making the man even more intimidated.

The man regained his composure and stood more straight. "Y-You're here for the scroll." He stated. "You must be from the Akatsuki"

"Hai. Make this easy for us and hand it over" Hinata said, surprising Sasuke with her complete lack of stutter. Maybe this is why she was in the Akatsuki after all. Behind the shy girl was a vicious shinobi probably.

He took a fighting stance and glared at the two of the Akatsuki members, "Not a chance. You'll have to pry it from my d-dead fingers"

Sasuke smirked when he heard the stutter in the 'dead'. The man didn't want to die really and it was obvious.

"Chidori" Sasuke cried and ran forward to the man with great speed, Hinata following behind him with speed that almost matched his, her Twin Step Lion Fist also activated.

The man whipped out few kunai's and flung it all at them, trying to hit them. He silently knew that he held no chance against the Akatsuki members, but that didn't mean he wouldn't go down not fighting.

He cried out when he tried to dodge the Chidori, but was rammed into by Hinata in the side. He coughed out blood, but still held his ground.

He jumped out of the way of a kunai that was whizzing toward him. It was no use however for the two fast shinobi. Hinata slammed her palm into the man's stomach, effectively making him drop onto the floor with a hard _thud_.

"T-There will be j-justice" He rasped out.

"Hn." Sasuke said. This was most likely just a mission to test their strenght since this man was too easy to kill. Hinata quickly averted her eyes discreetly when Sasuke ended the man's life. He reached into the man's pouch and pulled out a scroll.

"Got it" he mumbled, "Let's g-" he was cut of and Hinata whirled around to face the person she recognised as Shikamaru Naru from Konoha 11, the lazy genius with Kakashi Hatake at his side.

"We can't let you get away so easy, Akatsuki" He said. He gasped when he saw who he was faced with.

"Sasuke Uchiha and Hinata Hyuga"

-**xxx**-

A/N: Hm.. How'd you guys like this chapter? Again, I'm so sorry for taking longer than usual with this chapter. I had finals and they propped up all my most important subjects in one week so I didn't have time really to type the story. If anyone is willing to beta read this story for me or know somebody who will, please pm me.

I hope you liked it though :) Any tips, suggestions, or corrections are welcome.

Please review

-Ronni C.


	5. Chapter 5

**D****isclaimer: **Naruto does not belong to me, nor does anything else Naruto related stuff. This is merely AU.

Thank you for all the people who reviewed the previous chapter, sorry that I didn't reply individually, but things was hectic these days. I'm also very sorry that this chapter isn't as long as my usual updates, but I suck at writing fight scenes as you may have noticed xD It took a while to write this chapter. The next chapter will be longer to make up for this chapter's length since I want to achieve a certain amount of words when I'm finished with this fic.

This is the following list of jutsu's used in this chapter, sorry if it confuses some people. If you want me to use the English version, please say so. I don't mind doing either.

**Hakke Rokujūyon Shō** – Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms

**Jūho Sōshiken**– Gentle Step Twin Lion Fists

**Kagemane no Jutsu** – Shadow Imitation Jutsu

**Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu** – Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique

**Hakke Kūhekishō**– Eight Trigrams Vacuum Wall Palm

**Hakkeshō Kaiten** – Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven

Please Read and Review :D

Different Worlds, Same Heart.

Chapter 5

Hinata cringed inwardly when she faced the two Konoha shinobi's, but forced herself to hold an impassive façade. "Kakashi-san. Shikamaru-san." she said.

They nodded at her."Gomen, but we can't stay" she said.

Shikamaru shrugged and remained in his posistion, holding Sasuke back from trying to escape. Sasuke appeared to be scowling at Shikamaru for being caught by the infamous Nara clan's bloodline jutsu, 'Kagemane no Jutsu'. "Tch. This is troublesome, but I can't let you go, Hinata. We need that scroll of you."

Kakashi, who have been silent for a while, spoke up, "And while we're at it, Hinata, we'll bring you and Sasuke back to the village".

Sasuke seemed to be scowling even more at that, while Hinata just shook her head sadly. _This is going to be hard. An ANBU level Jonin and a master level strategist. _She thought. Hinata's eyes shifted to Sasuke, if she wanted to get out as soon as possible, she would have to get Sasuke out first before they could actually try something.

"T-That W-Won't be happening" Sasuke said through gritted teeth.

Hinata nodded and took her usual gentle fist position, looking from Shikamaru to Kakashi. The former looked at the latter with a silent sign. Kakashi nodded his head, saying he understands what Shikamaru is trying to say, 'Keep her away'. She activated her Byakugan as soon as she saw Shikamaru running away and Sasuke, being unable to do anything at the time, was forced to run away with him.

Hinata saw that he took Sasuke through the alley, across them, towards a small clearing away from Kakashi, who's been stopping Hinata from running after them, and Hinata's impending match.

"So this is how it's going to be. Hmm, I wouldn't expect anything less from Sasuke Uchiha, but you, Hinata, I didn't expect this traitorous act from." Kakashi said, shaking his head sadly.

"Sorry for this, Hinata" Kakashi said and charged Hinata. Her eyes widened before blocking his Kunai that was aimed for her chest. Jumping back, he removed his Konoha headband to reveal his sharingan. "I never thought that this is what will happen, but it did" Kakashi muttered.

"Jūho Sōshiken" Hinata cried and charged at Kakashi with amazing speed that seemed to be par with his own speed. She aimed at his left side to which he easily evaded. Quickly, when he dodged, she shot out another shot with her left hand to his stomach, which proved to be successful.

His eyes widened when he felt the sharp blow on his stomach. This girl, Hinata, was fast, but also gave hard hits when needed. Definitely not the shy girl they were used to. Sure they knew she was a Jonin, but never did he never sparred against her so he truly didn't know her strength to her full potential.

They both jumped away from each other then and the next time they charged at each other they rather went with taijutstu, to which Hinata used her gentle fist technique and Kakashi dodged. She managed to close at least few chakra coils since Kakashi was a former ANBU member and was known for being the famous Copy nin. But the three years of extreme training wasn't just something to frown upon that Hinata had to endure. She was much more powerful than the average Chunin and even stronger than some Jonin shinobi's.

As soon as Hinata was left open, Kakashi seized up the chance and slashed at her arm with a kunai.

Hissing, Hinata jumped out of the way of the kunai, but unfortunately wasn't fast enough since she now head a shallow diagonal cut on her right arm.

Straigthening up and ignoring the burning pain in her arm, Hinata charged again, but this time with Chakra Scapels, curtsey of knowing a bit of Medical Ninjutsu.

Kakashi, at the same time, cried, "Chidori" and ran at full speed at Hinata. Hinata, who saw where he was aiming at, tried to move out of the way, but was moving at incredible speed and was hit in the side rather than in any important organs that he was aiming at.

Gasping out, Hinata held her bleeding side. Kakashi stared at her with a sad gaze, "Give up, Hinata. Just let us take the scroll. Come home to Konoha, to your friends, family-" he paused, "-to Naruto."

Her eyes widened. Ah yes, it wasn't an unknown fact that she was madly in love with that idiot. Everyone that had at least a few knowledge of Hinata Hyuga, knew that fact about her. The only oblivious one was the boy she was in love with. She glared at Kakashi for even mentioning Naruto to her, "My business is not with you, Kakashi. Nor is it with Konoha any longer. Gomen for that, but from this moment on, I won't go easy on you."

His eyes widened when he saw that she suddenly appeared right before him, eyes blazing, and aiming at his head with a kunai. Dodging it just in time, he parred her blow with a kunai of his own.

After that the battle between them became more fierce then ever. Hinata ignored the burning sensation in her side and kept barraging Kakashi with Hyuga style techniques which he dodged with less ease that he was used to when dealing with the rookie 9's.

Kakashi's hands did the horse and tiger seal with great speed, "Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu" He said and blew out a powerful fireball out of his mouth.

"Hakkeshō Kaiten" Hinata said creating a rotating shield of chakra around herself to protect her against the fireball.

After the fire was away, Hinata gathered up a strong amount of chakra and ran at Kakashi. She parred his blows with her own before crying out, "Hakke Kūhekishō", immediately blowing Kakashi away when she hit him with her two palms on his chest.

Seizing her chance she ran full speed at the place where Shikamaru and Sasuke vanished to. She silently thanked her cousin, Neji Hyuga, for teaching her all that he knew about Hyuga techniques.

When she got to where Shikamaru and Sasuke was, she noted that Shikamaru was talking to Sasuke while Sasuke was trying hard to escape the hard grasp Shikamaru had on him. He was most likely trying to gain information from the Akatsuki, Hinata guessed.

Without breaking speed she jumped into the scene and tried to land a blow on Shikamaru, to which he dodged it, releasing the jutsu that held Sasuke from attacking him.

"Took your sweet time" Sasuke said, nodding to Hinata. She took her gentle fist position and faced Shikamaru.

"Gomen, but we have to get out of here. Leader-sama didn't want us to have confrontation with these ninja" Hinata said and Sasuke nodded.

"Tch. Troublesome bunch" Shikamaru said and Sasuke smirked at him, activating his sharingan.

"Susanno" He said and Hinata watched as the tall purple skeleton figure rose and stood protectively over Sasuke's form.

A thud was heard, next to Shikamaru, when Kakashi finally arrived at the scene. Hinata knew that Sasuke had a plan, but for the time being, they would have to face these two geniuses.

Kakashi's eyes shifted from Sasuke to Hinata. His gaze finally landed on Shikamaru, watching him out of the corner of his eyes. They were most likely formalating a plan agains Hinata and Sasuke, in hopes of defeating the pair. It was likely that they could, but both Kakashi and Shikamaru learned not to underestimate the two Akatsuki members.

Hinata jumped into action few seconds after Kakashi arrived, attacking said man with her gentle fist barrage in which he parred with his own blows. Some meters away, stood Sasuke glaring at Shikamaru's calm form.

Sasuke finally seemed to have sprung into action, Hinata noted after seeing, out of the corner of her eye, a large purple sword coming down at an amazing speed at Shikamaru.

"What about Naruto, Hinata?! Don't you care about him?" Kakashi yelled out, trying to land a blow on her cheek.

"He means nothing to me any more" She lied, blocking his blow.

Finally having enough of this fighting and having Kakashi at just the right place, Hinata yelled out, "Hakke Rokujūyon Shō", hitting Kakashi with the known Hyuga technique that closed many of his tenketsu and blasting him backwards with every hit. He didn't fight many Hyuga's if any at all, to be able to stop this powerful technique.

Gathering up the last of her chakra, she formed Chakra Scaples. With the Chakra Scaples, she sliced at Kakashi's side to render him even more useless, but making sure not to hit any important organs or arteries.

With a thud, he fell to the ground. Hinata stared at him impassively. She knew he didn't went all out with her and that meant that he wouldn't be able to win this battle between them at all. It was really his own fault, but that didn't mean it didn't Hinata for hurting Naruto's sensei.

Leaning down, Hinata said sadly, "I know that some of those shinobi like Naruto would try to save me, but they should stop. They should stop holding their breath for my return and they should stop trying to save what cannot be saved".

"Hinata!" Sasuke yelled out for her to get out of the way. Hinata immediately backed away from Kakashi's immobile form with a chakra laced jump.

"Amaterasu" Sasuke said and black flames immediately covered the ground in a straight line in front of them, blocking Shikamaru from coming to them. Hinata's eyes widened at the sight of the black flame. The word 'Amaretasu' itself meant Heavenly Illumination, but it didn't look like it. She could tell by just looking at it

"Troublesome.." Shikamaru muttered. Sasuke smirked as Shikamaru said it.

"Do you still have the scroll, Sasuke-kun?" Hinata asked as soon as they took their leave when both of the Konoha shinobi was rendered to stay where they are.

Sasuke nodded, "Hn. He wasn't able to get his hands on it" he said.

Hinata was relieved. Since this was their first mission for the Akatsuki, she had to prove herself that she was loyal to their cause. It was needed to act cold towards her previous nakamas. They would probably, when they get out of that village, tell lady Tsunade about what happened when they arrive in Konoha.

She was slightly irked at Sasuke acting as if nothing bothered him about meeting the two ninja's. One was his previous sensei for crying out loud and how many missions did he do with Shikamaru? Probably not many, but that didn't change the fact that he looked as if nothing in the world bothered him right now.

Finally after running at immense speed they were out of reach of the Konoha nin's. The adrenaline that were rushing though Hinata's veins only a while ago, seemed to have disappeared as she suddenly became very aware of the wounds Kakashi inflicted upon her.

Gasping, Hinata jumped down onto land instead of onto the next tree. Sasuke immediately followed.

"What now?" he inquired, annoyed at the sudden break of speed. Hinata held her side, which was badly hurt by Kakashi's chidori.

"Gomen, Sasuke-kun, but I'll have to heal this first before we can move" She said and he smirked.

"And let me guess- you're out of chakra, right?" He asked, but more like stated.

She looked ashamed at the words, although she knew it was the truth. "H-Hai. Kakashi-san isn't an easy opponent" She said.

He nodded, "I know" he said and picked her up, bridal style. She immediately gasped and blushed lightly at the sudden contact.

"A-Ano, S-Sasuke-kun, what are you doing?" She asked, still blushing. She cursed inwardly for blushing, but it was really Naruto she wanted to hold her like that.

"We have to get to a safer place than this" he said and jumped back onto the tree's.

The exhaustion was finally getting to her, since she silently slipped into deep slumber while unconsciously listening to Sasuke's heartbeat near her ear.

Sasuke stared at the sleeping girl in his arms as soon as they reached a small cave that was hidden under foliage in the mountain far enough from Kusai village.

Silently entering, he noted that the place was warmer than he expected. After examining it with his sharingan, he deemed it safe and placed Hinata against the wall on the floor, softly.

After taking a seat himself, he let his eyes fall close, letting the exhaustion of using Amaretasu finally get to him.

-xxx-

"What?! You let them get away with the scroll?!" Lady Tsunade yelled at the two shinobi in front of her, Shikamaru standing and the copy-nin, Kakashi, in his hospital bed.

Shikamaru cringed at the sudden loudness in her voice, "Troublesome.." he muttered. "It wouldn't have mattered what we do, they were too strong for the both of us".

Tsunade rubbed her temples, attempting to calm herself down and not attack the two men. Shikamaru told her the full story at what happened and how they got out of the black flames, but that didn't matter to her at that stage. They lost important information. She silently cursed herself for letting Hinata go on this mission.

After resting and regaining his chakra, Kakashi managed to doze the flames with his Mangekyo Sharingan. It took up a lot of chakra, but he managed to get it right. Shikamaru and he immediately took of to Konoha, with Shikamaru supporting the injured man.

"The both of you know what this means don't you?" She inquired, still nursing her head. The two of them nodded their heads, solemnly.

A sudden crash was heard and every one turned around to face a blonde haired teenager with whisker marks.

"Naruto, what are you doing here?" Kakashi asked from his bed. Naruto rubbed his head, sheepishly.

"Well, I heard you guys fought Akatsuki guys" he said and turned serious, shifting his eyes between the three people in the room, "was it her? Was it Hinata?" he asked softly.

Tsunade nodded sadly. Oh how the universe hated her today by adding all this problems. "That isn't all, Naruto.. She had a partner"

"Who was it?" he asked, sadly.

"Sasuke Uchiha." She said and Naruto's eyes widened. He could have suspected Hinata, being Akatsuki and all, but Sasuke?

"Nani?" He said, his face suddenly very pale, almost just like the sheets on Kakashi's bed. Tsunade nodded.

"You heard right. It was rumoured that he killed Orochimaru a while ago, but I chose to ignore it, it seemed to have been true. His reasons for not murdering his brother is unknown, but they are both in the same organisation right now. It's highly likely that the Akatsuki are planning something huge, but since we do not know what, we will just have to stay on extra guard." Tsunade said.

-xxx-

A/N: Ah, yes. I know this chapter is shorter than the other chapters, but to make up for it, the next chapter will be extra longer than usual. Sorry for all the mistakes in this chapter, but I didn't really focus again on the grammar and stuff so there will most likely be many problems regarding it. For Jutsu clarification, view the top of the page.

Thank you again for reviewing last chapter, reviews make a person really happy.

Thank you for reading, please review. :D

-Ronni C.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N**: Hello readers :D I have to apologize for being a bit late, but I was a bit sick. Anyway, this chapter is kinda like a filler, but also not. Enjoy :) I also forgot again to reply to reviews, I'll definitely do it this time, believe it! :D

Please R&R

**Disclaimer**: Not mine, just this story's plot is.

Different Words Same Heart

Chapter 6

Walking side by side, Hinata and Sasuke walked in companionable silence. Both lost in their thoughts.

A few days ago they stopped at Amagakure and gave the scroll Pain wanted so badly, back to him. It took a week to get back to Pain, although they both weren't in their best states, but they managed it.

In their trip to Amagakure, the village hidden in the rain, it was silent. Both of them decided to focus more on recuperating and since Hinata was taught few basics about Medical ninjutsu, she managed to heal a few of Sasuke's wounds too.

After giving the scroll to their leader, they headed back to their home base. Although, it didn't feel exactly _home._ And it was most likely that not one of the Akatsuki felt that way about being in the base of their separate homes. After all, the Akatsuki members is nothing but shinobi with a goal in their mind that even if it means abandoning their previous villages, families, friends and their comrades.

Some, it might have hurt, but others, probably not. Those who were hurt, were probably her and Itachi Uchiha, but also maybe Sasuke. But who knew what he was actually thinking. Sasuke was a closed book that only some could understand when they lost something precious in their life. However, to understand the whole deal, you would have to lose everything.

Sasuke lost everything that he held precious to him. And that meant his entire family. His mother, gone. His father, gone. His brother, a criminal. To add to the mess, he just got his brother back and Hinata honestly didn't know how things were between the two of them. Was Sasuke planning something or honestly forgiving him? Nothing was sure between the two siblings.

For that few facts, Hinata's pain couldn't even compare to his. Her family was still whole, few barely hidden cracks, but still everyone was there. The main house and branch family wasn't on good terms, but when were they? It was a separate two families, if you look at it in another light. The main house looked down upon the branch family, while the branch family harboured hatred for the main house.

Her sister, however, was a different case. Hinata didn't hate Hanabi, quite the opposite, really. She really loved her sister, but the position of the clan heir caused tension between them. Hanabi really wanted the heir position, while Hinata would want it to change the family to a whole.

_At least, Hanabi doesn't have to worry about the competition any more._ Hinata thought bitterly.

Quickly shaking her head, ridding her bitter thoughts about her family and her situation. The action didn't go by unnoticed by Sasuke. Snapping his head up to her, he looked at her, questioning her action.

"Hinata?" he inquired.

"Huh? Sasuke-kun?"

"You just shook your head without reason." He pointed out, looking forward to the narrow path before them.

"Oh.. Ano, I was thinking about-" She paused, thinking carefully about her answer, before answering, "-my family." This gained the attention of Sasuke.

His eyes widened a bit, before he recovered his impassive façade. "For what reasons? Their behind you now." He pointed out.

She nodded solemnly, "I know. But that's exactly why I'm thinking of them. Sasuke, tell me, have you never thought of Naruto-kun and Sakura-chan?" She asked softly, hesitant in her question, pausing when she asked him about Naruto and Sakura.

He moved his gaze down to meet hers, "don't talk about them," he snapped.

"Gomen," She muttered, lowering her gaze to the ground. Neji always had this thing about destiny and fate after the tragic death of his family, but luckily that changed after Naruto knocked some sense into him, but the way Sasuke was reminder her awfully of Neji back when he was still blinded by lies and hatred.

Back then, she was a disgrace. Weak in her families eyes and to Neji, she would have always stayed that way. However, together they worked hard, passing through Chunin in the first year after Naruto's departure. When two years went by, they both were promoted to Jonin, Neji being first and Hinata following not long after. That little fact proved that she wasn't what they thought of her. She wasn't weak in her Genin days nor was she weak now.

"D-Demo, Sasuke-kun, even though I hate my family right now and those who treat me like scum, there still comes times when I m-miss them," she lied, however, not about the part that she's missing them, but more like the part about hating them. "You're not perfect. They meant something to you, no matter how hard you try to hide it." She stated, half muttering it.

Sasuke turned his head to address or maybe snap at her again, she didn't know, but before he could do that, Hinata walked in front of him rather than next to him. The way she walked right now practically screamed that it was the end of the conversation.

Hinata felt proud of herself for finally telling someone kind of what was on her mind. Even though she could almost feel the scowl burning into the back of her head, but that didn't bother her.

A few hours later, the glare finally subsided when the sun finally decided to set and the moon was already visible in the sky. They both stopped when the road split into two sides, the left leading to a village and the right leading to another forest.

Without saying a word, Sasuke decided on the right road that led to the forest. Hinata scowled slightly at his retreating back, not believing that he wanted to sleep in a forest rather than a bed. She was a girl after all and that meant that she would rather prefer it that she slept on a soft bed, not on the hard ground.

_He's worse than Hanabi when she's mad,_ she thought when she noted that he was probably still mad at her. She followed after him, making sure to keep few steps behind his brooding form. Or she thought he was brooding, maybe it was just because she was starting to feel guilty about saying those things to him.

Finally, they reached a good place to rest the night. Relieved, Hinata removed her Akatsuki robe from herself. She silently made a bed for her with her heavy robe. Sasuke seemed to do the same at the time.

"We'll have to take turns taking watch through the night." Sasuke piped up over the awkward silence.

"Ano, why?" She asked softly while sitting cross legged on her robe.

"We're Akatsuki, meaning we probably have enemies." He stated and Hinata resisted scowling at him for saying that as if she was an idiot for even asking why.

"Oh. I'll take the first watch, I'll wake you up at one? It would be best if we move when the sun hasn't come up yet."

"Hn. I'm going to sleep now, wake me up at the time you said you would. We leave at 5." Hinata nodded at Sasuke and looked at him as he slowly took in the position to sleep.

She quietly looked at the starts until her partner's breathing became relaxed, meaning that he was deep asleep. She turned her gaze to Sasuke's still form. If she didn't know any better or wasn't a shinobi, she would probably thought the man before her was dead and not just sleeping.

To any person that can look at him, would think that he was an innocent man and not a wanted criminal that abandoned his village and most likely killed few people himself. But all shinobi had to kill some time in their life, the only difference between a criminal and a village shinobi was killing an innocent person and killing a criminal.

She still remembered her first time that she had to kill a person out of hatred. It was a time when they all got a mission as team eight again, the only difference was that she was the Jonin, playing the roll of team leader while Kiba and Shino was Chunin. The mission just required them to scout the border between the Wind country and Fire country.

The mission turned bad, however. Hinata and her team was attacked, but easily managed to overpower them. Until another shinobi arrived and nearly took Kiba's life if it wasn't for Hinata that used her 64 palms on him and lastly pouring most of her chakra into her gentle fist technique, delivering the final blow to his heart.

After that happened, she finally understood why Naruto went into the Kyuubi state. All that hatred when you see a fellow team-mate getting hurt or when hatred builds up and finally releases its full power. The only difference was that the Kyuubi state was much worse than just the anger that she released when she was angry at seeing Shino laying motionless and Kiba and Akamaru bleeding out on the ground.

Sure she killed people before for the sake of the mission, but none of that guilt could compare to the guilt she felt when she killed that man out of anger and hatred. The times that she killed shinobi before were nothing compared to that feeling that she felt when those feelings took over. Her mother always told her that as long as there is good, there will also be bad, and that meant where there is love there will be hatred. All that matters is that the good in a person overshadows the bad.

After Sasuke's parents and clan's downfall, it was likely that he locked everyone out. Not wanting to feel the pain of losing someone any longer. To come home to a bloody mess, nobody can feel pain like that.

Shaking her head to bring herself out of her reverie, she looked at the moon, noting that soon she would have to wake Sasuke up and rest herself. The time passed quickly when a person has so many thoughts going around in their heads. Quietly, she looked at the moon, deciding that thoughts about Sasuke wasn't a good thing. Although she had him as a partner, it was Naruto's wish to bring him back to Konoha and that meant that the job of trying to understand him was team seven's.

"Sasuke-kun," She muttered when she walked over to where he was sleeping. His eyes shot open at the sudden sound and person next to him.

Blinking slowly, he nodded to her. "Go sleep, I'm up." Even a ninja would be a little drowsy when waking up apparently.

"Thank you, Sasuke-kun." She said and went back to her make shift bed. Sasuke was in the tree, looking at her with no emotions showing. Involuntarily, a shiver ran up her spine when she noticed his gaze on her, seemingly studying her.

"G-Good night," She muttered and turned her back to him, closing her eyes in the process.

"Hn."

Sasuke being the one lost in his thoughts as the silence took their small camp over once more. The only audible thing was the cricket sounds and a water fall that was a reasonable distance away from them. She focused on his breathing near her and slowly she fell into a dreamless sleep. No annoying thoughts troubling her any longer than what was really necessary.

-xxx-

The following morning Sasuke woke Hinata up by poking her shoulder. Hard. Groaning, Hinata sat up straight, not even bothering to look at him. She noted that he smirked briefly when he saw her ignoring him.

"Let's go."

She nodded at him and picked up her Akatsuki cloak from the ground. After dusting it off, she put it on. Without words, they both resumed their journey to their base.

"Ano, Sasuke-kun, can we stop at the village near our base?"

"Yes. We have to get our supplies after all."

She sighed in relief. She really did need new clothes for her stay at the Akatsuki and some ninja tools while they were at it.

"Arigato," she said as they walked once again just like the previous day, side by side. Just this time, the silence between them still had a slight edge to it, but was more comfortable.

Sasuke was the first this time to break the silence between them after the first ten minutes, "What was you family like, that made you hate them?"

She was slightly shocked at the question to say the least. She thought for a while to what she should say, but said after a while "Things were al right for the first five years of my life, after that my mother passed away from sickness. It was after her death that everything seemed worse for me. The main house and branch family feud was more apparent for me and the hatred between them was surprising to me. My father held high expectations from me because Neji was the Hyuga's genius, but was from the branch family so therefore he couldn't become clan heir.

"I think it may have been after my sister became more like my father that I decided to make myself stronger so that she wouldn't become fully like him at all. Even after I became Jounin along with Neji-niisan, he still looked down upon me. That is when my hatred started to grow toward the Hyuga family." She finished her story. Some parts were lies of course, but not all of them. She told the truth about her mother, though.

Sasuke pondered over her words for a while, "Hn. I had my fair share of expectant fathers before."

"Nani? Really?" Hinata asked, half surprised while another part of her wasn't that surprised, because clans are sometimes arrogant and need to prove themselves great.

He closed his eyes briefly and nodded his head. "Yes, he wanted me to be better and become a prodigy."

"Ano.. But you were one?"

"After my clan massacre. Not before then" He said simply.

"Oh.. I understand, Sasuke-kun. It must have been hard for you"

Shrugging, he said, "Hn."

Silence ensued shortly after his short answer and Hinata understood why. Sasuke wasn't someone to really talk, much less share information. That was, however, something that mostly everyone learned in their times at the academy.

Soon, after walking for hours long, they reached the village that showed they were near their base. Although it was a small village, a lot of ninja's were known to come through this village. Therefore they had many ninja tools as well as ninja attires.

After spotting a nearby clothes shop, Hinata turned to Sasuke. "I won't be long. I'll meet you in an hour at that dumpling shop, Sasuke-kun?"

Nodding his answer, Sasuke walked away, probably to tend to his own business in the village.

Furrowing her brow slightly, Hinata walked into the shop and was immediately greeted by a friendly middle aged woman, "Good afternoon! How may I help you?" Hinata couldn't help but notice that the woman was slightly scared when Hinata entered the shop.

"I would just like some shinobi wears, please."

Nodding, the woman mentioned with a shaky hand toward the corner of the shop. "Here they all are." She smiled at Hinata and went back to stand behind the counter.

"Arigato," Hinata called at her retreating back. She shook her head at the worried or scared woman, she didn't know which was it.

She turned her gaze to the clothes in front of her and browsed through it, carefully looking at the materials to see which would last longer in fights with other shinobi.

After finding what she needed, Hinata walked to the counter to pay. She just bought plain shinobi clothes, black pants with a standard black turtle neck shinobi shirt and lastly, a burble vest that went over it. But none of that really mattered since she would wear her Akatsuki cloak above her clothes, though she did choose carefully for reasons like fighting again.

The woman took the clothes from Hinata's hand and flinched when she accidentally touched her hand.

"T-This would be 50 ryō" The woman shakily said. Hinata frowned at the woman and grasped her hand to which the woman paled at.

"Please don't hurt me." She gasped out.

"Nani? I just want to know the reason for you being so afraid?"

"Y-You're A-Akatsuki." The woman said, nervous at being asked that question. Hinata finally understood and let the woman's hand go.

"Al right." She muttered, quite shocked that a person was so afraid. "Thank you for the clothes." After saying that, Hinata left the shop quickly.

Shaking her head to rid herself of the shock, she looked at the sky. She noted that there was still time before she had to go meet with Sasuke.

She walked slowly to the dumpling shop, noticing the looks that people threw at her when she walked by. It was similar to the look that the woman gave her when she first walked into the store.

_Is the Akatsuki really that bad? _She asked herself, but quickly scolded herself. Of course they were. They were criminals. Most likely known so well by this village because a base was located near the village.

She smiled at the people also sitting at the dumpling shop, before taking a seat herself, waiting for Sasuke to get there. She pointedly ignored the hushed whispers that broke out near her.

Before getting annoyed at the attention, he finally showed up. After noticing her, he walked to their table and put a black backpack on the table before sitting down.

"What's in there?" She asked.

To answer her question, he pulled out a kunai out of the bag. "Weapons."

"A-Ah. Al right."

-xxx-

**A/****N**: Sorry for cutting at such a lame place, but I didn't know what to write more. This was more of a filler, but I decided to put in at least some development in this chapter. Lately I was feeling a bit sick so I couldn't update so fast, but at least I did, right? Heh. Sorry if this chapter was a bit more boring than the previous, but I have more plans for the next few chapters at least. The grammar and punctuation may suck a bit in this chapter.. Also: I plan to change this story's name. When I add the next chapter, I'll change it so any suggestions are nice.

Thank you for reading, please review. 3

~Ronni C.


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